BUSTED FLUSH DELIVERED

November 30, 2007

Busted Flush, the second in the trilogy of new Wild Cards mosaic novels that began with Inside Straight (out this January at a bookstore near you), and the nineteenth volume of the overall series, has been completed and delivered to editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden at Tor. The book is scheduled to be published in late 2008.

This one will feature the return of three popular mainstays from our original run with Bantam and Baen : Carnifex, Cameo, and… but no, that would be telling. The three veterans will be sharing the stage and the action with Bubbles, Jonathan Hive, Curveball, Drummer Boy, Stuntman, and the other “next generation” wild carders introduced in Inside Straight, and some great new characters making their Wild Cards debuts, among them Genetrix, Hoodoo Mama, Snowblind, Little Fat Boy, and Our Lady of Pain. I’m prejudiced, of course, but I’ve just finished reading and editing this one (about forty-seven times, seems like), and I think it’s even stronger than the last volume. Exciting action, touching character moments, suspense, hot sex and tender romance, a few laughs, all the intricate plotting you’ve come to expect from the Wild Cards books… hey, what more could you want?

The authors and stories featured in Busted Flush will be:

“Double Helix,” by Melinda M. Snodgrass

“Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda,” by Caroline Spector

“Just Cause,” by Carrie Vaughn

“Political Science,” by Walton Simons & Ian Tregillis

“Volunteers of America,” by Victor Milan

“The Tear of Nepthys,” by Kevin Andrew Murphy

“Dirge in a Major Key,” by S.L. Farrell

“Won’t Get Fooled Again,” by Victor Milan

“Mortality’s Strong Hand,” by John Jos. Miller

“A Hard Rain Is A’Going to Fall,” by Victor Milan

Originally launched in 1987, Wild Cards has outlasted all the other shared worlds of the 80s to become the longest-running such series in the history of our genre. For a taste of the new triad, check out the Wild Cards Sample on this website, where you’ll find an excerpt from Daniel Abraham’s interstitial for Inside Straight, inrtoducing Jonatrhan Hive, bligger extraordinary. Just click on the blue and white shield on my home page.